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The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) said on Thursday that it had approved two loans and one equity investment totalling US$324 million to support infrastructure projects in India, Georgia and Tajikistan.

The Beijing-based bank said its first equity investment – US$150 million to India Infrastructure Fund – would help to attract much needed private investment capital for infrastructure projects in India.

“Approving our first equity investment is another milestone for the Bank and will enhance our potential to source and fund high quality, private sector projects,” said D.J. Pandian, AIIB Vice President and Chief Investment Officer.

The India Infrastructure Fund aims to invest in mid-cap infrastructure companies in India and the initiative will benefit local infrastructure development by enhancing private capital inflows from global long-term investors, the AIIB said.

The two loans included US$114 million for the Georgia Batumi Bypass Road Project, the bank’s first loan to Georgia. The project aims to aims to “improve regional connectivity and efficiency of road transport along the East–West Highway in Georgia” and is co-financed with the Asian Development Bank.

A US$60 million loan was approved for a project in Tajikistan, co-financed with the World Bank, which aims to rehabilitate and restore the generating capacity of three units of the Nurek hydropower plant.

Investment worth US$2.5bn to date

The AIIB was established in 2015 on China’s initiative to finance the building of roads, power plants and other infrastructure across Asia. The US$100bn bank opened for business in 2016 and currently has 77 member countries, with China, India, Russia, Germany and South Korea as the biggest shareholders.

With today’s announcement, the AIIB has so far approved loans and investment worth US$2.5bn to 16 projects in countries including Bangladesh, Oman and Pakistan.